Effy Silver: “The Acoustic EP” conveys yearning tracts of emotion
I’ve been listening to all types of music my entire life and it’s extremely rare that I find new music that hits me with a certain amount of emotion. Effy Silver’s lyrics, her voice, her acoustic guitar playing and raw emotion all fit together to tell her personal little stories that are both affecting and intriguing. The raw beauty of Effy’s voice on “The Acoustic EP”, is not masked by any over-production; the whole recording is simple and visceral. There are touching songs about dealing with difficult circumstances and ramifications of life, but the songs have an ultimately positive message of love and hope running in the undercurrent.
Heartbreaking and beautiful, stark and real, Effy Silver is absolutely stunning on “Nothing Ever Mattered”. Her explicit lyrics will kill you. Her guitar playing is busy, angry and perfect. And her voice is unfairly filled with way too much bitterness for someone her age.
You will be reminded of what it was like when music made you actually feel something, without the need for any bells and whistles. Effy pulls no punches in a harrowing tale of having your heart ripped out of your soul and left bleeding on the floor – “All our broken promises and all the dreams we had are dead, I’m drowning in the room.”
Heartfelt and powerful songwriting by an incredibly expressive talent abounds across these tracks, as each song sounds like an honest revelation of someone who understands the journey to the dark emotional depths, and then finding a way back up.
The Toronto, Ontario-based, singer-songwriter is most eloquent and profound on “The Fall”, as she encourages, guides and advises, singing: “This is my letter to you, for all the things you’ll go through. I know I ain’t met you and I know that it’s hard not to open the presents before the card. I can’t predict the future but I’ll try for you.”
Whether inspired by personal experience or a penchant for compelling fictitious narrative, Effy Silver is an interpreter of the mistreated, and emotionally fragile figures among us. She demonstrates a markedly profound and incisive empathy for the adversities of the marginalized and misunderstood soul. Something she demonstrates with every vocal and lyrical nuance on “Radio Song” – “Turn the radio on, when you’re feeling alone. Turn the radio on, so you can pretend.”
With eloquence and grace, Effy proves herself to be one of the more adept up-and-coming songwriters when it comes to externalizing the psychological and emotional facades that so many of us hold. She does it brilliantly on the EP opener, “Master of Disguise”– “…and her bright blue dress is showing everything, except her heart. She keeps that under guard. But that’s not what they came to see. They don’t care about the person she could be…just that her tight blue dress is showing everything.”
Throughout the EP, Effy Silver processes an essentially expressive impassioned voice, capable of conveying yearning tracts of emotion. An equal amount of attention should be paid to Effy’s superb command of vocal melody and how it presents the lyrics to the listener in the right way at the right time.
Her singing is raw, yet contemplative, and appealing to the ear. This is due in large part to Effy’s well-developed lyrical prowess and ability to convey tone through her vocal performance. These talents are what make Effy Silver’s songs feel believable and earnest.
Currently studying to go to law school, Effy says that music has always kept her safe: “Whether it was getting through a day at school or kicking my ass out of bed, it’s always been there for me. I could say that it’s been a rough path, and that my musical voice conjured some magical change in me, inspiring my life to greater heights.” The interesting thing is, this is not her peak, Effy Silver will continue to grow and likely produce more brilliant work. In the meantime, this EP will do, and it is a recording that begs for repeated listening.
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